July 2015: After a thorough bidding process, the parish council has selected Halliday Construction to be our general contractor for the expansion project on account of their experience with churches, understanding that they are building onto a house of God, and their proven reputation.

Owing to several factors, the cost of the project is almost twice as much as we had originally hoped.

First, we need to replace or redo existing infrastructure. This includes the following: the drainage by the kitchen exit (which has caused flooding in the basement a few times a year), the church floor, the extension of the ambo (amvon), a heating and cooling system, and an air circulation system.

Second, the Parish Council decided to use quality materials, as opposed to using cheaper materials that might force us to incur more expenses in the future. For example, the entrance will be made of stone rather than concrete, which as all can see, needs constant repair. Finally, the cost of materials has gone up since we initially began planning for this project six years ago.

If all goes according to plan, work on the expansion project will begin the week after Pascha 2016 and will take just under a year to complete. During this time, we will continue to serve in the church on most weekends. We are currently discussing where we will serve on weekdays and on those weekends when the church will be unavailable.

Next month the parish will sign a contract with the general contractor at which point we will make a ten percent deposit and the permit process will begin. The total cost will be $1,300,000; so the initial deposit for the expansion project will be $130,000. As of last month, the parish had raised over $120,000. After architect, permit, and other fees, we have a balance of $70,000. Therefore, we aim to raise $65,000 by September 30, 2015 to cover the initial payment. While we anticipate taking out a loan when construction begins, the more we raise now, the less we will need to raise later. Breaking the project into smaller steps will make it more manageable. Let us focus on raising $65,000 this summer for the 10% down payment.

As a reminder, when the project is completed, our church will have 50% more total space, an elevator to all levels of the church, a connection between the panamarka and the church, needed storage for vestments, books and liturgical items, an expanded trapeza, improved restrooms, resolution of our drainage problems in the trapeznaya, and a choir balcony that is nearly twice in size that of the current one.

May God bless your support and generosity in strengthening our spiritual fortress in Boston -- our beloved parish, which is so needed for our current and future parishioners.

If you have any questions about the expansion project, I will be happy to explain or feel free to speak to our senior deacon, Fr. Alexander Jarostchuk.

Prot. Victor Boldewskul, Parish Rector 7/10/15

Fundraising Appeal, Fall 2014

Dear Parishioners of the Holy Epiphany Church,

The Holy Epiphany Church is the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church in Boston. Every year, we’re delighted to see the church overflow with parishioners. The length of the communion line on Sundays alone speaks volumes about the growth potential of our community. God willing, in the summer of 2015, we hope to begin the expansion and modification of the narthex to accommodate the needs of our current and future parishioners. If funds allow, we also hope to start planning for a new parish center behind the church.

The church expansion project will include making several much needed modifications to our building, such as:• adding an elevator to all levels of the church to improve accessibility• doubling the size of the choir loft• removing the current stair up to the choir loft• modernizing our restrooms expanding our trapeza space below the church• updating our heating and cooling systems• adding storage space for books, vestments, and other liturgical items• placing the candle counter in the new entrance hall to improve safety and flow• adding needed space in the church

As construction begins, we hope to immediately start planning for the new parish hall and cultural center that would replace the current house next to the church. Besides accommodating for cultural events, lectures, and parish banquets, the new hall would provide dedicated classrooms for our children and youth, parish offices, a library, and possibly an apartment for those who need temporary housing assistance.

We now begin our fundraising efforts, and would like to invite you to pledge multiple donations over time toward the cost of the project. The parish relies solely on the parishioners’ donations both for its existence and any upgrading. Your kind commitment to the future of our community would make the success of our plans possible.

Please ask your friends to support us as well. Our dreams can become reality only with your help. May our Lord bless our intentions and your generosity!

Last year our Metropolitan blessed our conceptual design which among other things will expand the church, make it handicap accessible and bring all safety questions up to code. I am pleased to that this past month we received two important approvals: from the Zoning Board for our setback limit, and from the Massachusetts Accessibility Board with all requested variances. We can now finally move forward.

The expansion of the church and meeting place underneath is the first part of a larger expansion project with will eventually include a new parish hall, offices, school, library and possibly an apartment for visitors who are receiving medical treatment in Boston, from Russia. We anticipate the total project (including the new hall) to cost between 2 and 2.5 million dollars. I am convinced the Russian Orthodox community is thirsting for such a center.

The church expansion project is the first part of this larger plan, and anticipated costs will be approximately $700,000. If all goes well and we collect the needed funds, building will very likely begin in the summer of 2015. In the near future we will begin reaching out to the community in order to raise funds for this project, and of course we need to meet our regular obligations.

The conceptual design of the church expansion project is included below.

May God bless our good intentions and I hope this work will further unite our community.